The Matchup: #6 Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-4-1) vs. #11 Harvard Crimson (2-3-0)
3M Arena at Mariucci, Friday/Saturday nights, 7:00 PM, FSN+
Key Stats: Minnesota has lost only seven times to Harvard but, frustratingly, several of those losses were in big tournament games. The losses have been spaced out, though. Harvard’s win over UM at the 2016 Mariucci Classic was the Crimson’s first since the 1989 NCAA title tilt at the old St. Paul Civic Center.
This is only the fifth game of the season for the Crimson who, like other schools in the Ivy League, start later than the western teams.
Recent history: Minnesota was embarrassed at Michigan last weekend, squandering leads in both games and coming away with a loss and a tie plus the extra point for Saturday’s shootout win.
The Crimson lost both of its road efforts last weekend, 2-1 at Colgate and 3-2 at Cornell. That one was also One That Got Away: the Crimson had built up a 2-0 lead in the 151st meeting between the schools, only to see the Big Red tie it up and then light the lamp with 2.3 seconds remaining in regulation for the win.
Players to Watch: Minnesota’s Rem Pitlick is just on fire. The sophomore, whose father (Lance) was an impact player for the Maroon and Gold, is rolling: 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists) in 12 games.
It could take asbestos gloves to handle teammate Tyler Sheehy, too. The Gopher captain posted a career-high four-point night at Ann Arbor last Saturday and nailed the decisive goal in Minnesota’s shootout win. He enters this weekend on a three-game scoring jag.
Harvard is banking on lots of players to replace a lot of departing firepower. All three of its top scorers from last season are gone but four of its top eight are back. Leading the pack this fall: junior Ryan Donato, the number four scorer last season with 21/19/40, and sophomore blueliner Adam Fox, the top-scoring defenseman in the nation last year.
Why These Games Matter: Both teams are highly ranked and used to it. Yet they’re both smarting after losing games they led by multiple goals and should have won. Big stuff to two proud programs that aren’t used to skulking out of someone else’s building with foul tastes in their mouths.
Keys for the Gophers:
Broadcasts: Ben Clymer, Krissy Wendell and I will call both games on Fox Sports North Plus. Air times: Friday and Saturday at 7:00 PM.
DOUG McLEOD is the five-time Emmy Award-winning play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports and a longtime voice of Division I and NHL hockey. This is his 21st season calling Golden Gopher hockey games.
